Siege of Xuchang (200)

The Siege of Xuchang occurred from September to November 200 AD when the southern warlord Sun Ce and his army laid siege to the imperial capital of Xuchang as Cao Cao and his main army fought at the Battle of Guandu. Sun Ce besieged Xuchang for two months, but he was mortally wounded by Xu Gong's followers, leading to his forces ultimately withdrawing from the siege and leaving Emperor Xian of Han as Cao Cao's puppet.

Background
In 199 AD, the Jiangdong warlord Sun Ce conquered Lujiang from Liu Xun and forced Governor Hua Xin of Yuzhang to surrender, becoming the dominant warlord of southern China. Prime Minister Cao Cao had Cao Ren's niece marry Sun Ce's youngest brother Sun Kuang to form an alliance, but Cao Cao refused to appoint Sun Ce a Grand Commander, leading to Sun Ce harboring enmity towards Cao Cao. Sun Ce had the Governor of Wujun Xu Gong strangled to death for asking Cao Cao to recall Sun Ce to the capital due to the danger he posed to the southern regions, and, after reading a letter from Yuan Shao asking for his aid against Cao Cao, Sun Ce led an army to besiege the imperial capital of Xuchang while Cao Cao was engaged at the Battle of Guandu.

Sun Ce's walk
Sun Ce and his army built a fortified base camp to the south of Xuchang, and Sun Ce decided to hunt in the hills west of Dantu as the siege was prepared. He came across visions of the wizard Yu Ji, who taunted him about his ambitions and his inability to live up to his father Sun Jian, and Sun Ce repeatedly tried to slay him, failing each time. Ultimately, he stumbled into men claiming to be Han Dang's soldiers as they were shooting deer, but they then proclaimed themselves to be the "Avengers of Xu Gong" and fired several arrows at him, mortally wounding him.

Assault
Zhou Yu was concerned about Sun Ce's prolonged absence, but he still resolved to assault the city walls. The besiegers employed the use of battering rams against the city's gates, and the undermanned city - left in the care of Cao Cao's strategist Xun Yu - was quickly overwhelmed. However, Zhou Yu was forced to deal with the vanguard of Cao Cao's army under Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan as it returned from its victory at the Battle of Guandu, and Zhou Yu led his forces in defeating Cao Cao's army as it began to arrive. Xiahou Dun took command of the city defenses, but Zhou Yu succeeded in wounding him and forcing him to flee from the palace. Just then, however, Sun Ce appeared with several arrows stuck in his back, and he approached Zhou Yu and his siblings Sun Quan and Sun Shangxiang. His last words were assuring Sun Quan that he would be a greater ruler than both he and his father were, and he died in his brother's arms.

Aftermath
While the besiegers succeeded in breaking into the city, Sun Ce's death caused Zhou Yu to order the army to retreat to the Southlands, and the Sun family's intervention against Cao Cao quickly ended. Sun Quan became the new ruler of Jiangdong, but Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao became his regents, presiding over Jiangdong as he came of age.